


Old Green Eyes

by pluto



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: M/M, Winter companions summer/winter holiday fest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-08
Updated: 2010-06-08
Packaged: 2017-10-12 19:49:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/128412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pluto/pseuds/pluto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor's jealous, Jack's nosy and Rose is dancing with the Prince of Muldoon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Old Green Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Winter Companions Summer/Winter holiday fest back in June! I never realized I didn't post it here until now. Prompts: Liar Peacock Mask Grin.

It's been a long time since Jack's visited the ninety-ninth century, and an even longer time since he's had so much fun there. The Muldoon Masked Ball is a nonstop masquerade held in an entire city-palace and, the Doctor tells them, the only place that one can get a banana daiquiri in this part of the Human Empire.

Jack's thoroughly enjoying himself, and Rose is too, by the look of it. He's grinning at Rose's unsubtle attempts to flirt with the rather attractive Prince of Muldoon when he notices the Doctor's long face.

Reaching over, Jack tweaks one of the feathers sprouting off the side of the mask in the Doctor's hand. It's a gaudy thing entirely unsuited to the Doctor, all peacock colors and glitter, but Rose insisted. The Doctor's indulgence only went so far; he's been carrying the mask around all evening, but he hasn't put it on.

"That a green-eyed monster you got there, Doctor?"

The Doctor drops his scowl and bats Jack's hand away. "Don't know what you mean," he says, his tone undermining his words.

"Liar." Jack snags a couple of banana daiquiris off the tray of a passing waiter and thumps one against the Doctor's chest. The Doctor accepts it with a frown. "Hey, I'll admit it, _I'm_ a bit jealous." He gestures with his glass towards Rose, who's currently biting her bottom lip and blushing nearly as pink as her pearlescent butterfly half-mask. Jack can't help but admire her technique. The Muldonian Prince is practically falling all over himself in the face of her girlish charm. "She is pretty cute. Where'd you find her?"

The Doctor rankles. Jack laughs, having gotten just the reaction he was looking for. "Relax," he says. "Rose is just having fun. Something you should try."

"I have fun!"

"Do you now? I would never have guessed." He sips the daiquiri and makes a face--unlike the Doctor, he's got no particular fondness for bananas. What he wouldn't give for a good old-fashioned shot of Terekian Bourbon.... "So, let's see you put that mask on and ask somebody to dance, Doctor Party Animal."

"Don't feel like it," the Doctor grumbles.

"Aw, c'mon, Doc, you're the one who suggested this place."

The Doctor's mouth presses into a tight line and he mutters something unintelligible.

Jack raises an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Said I was hoping someone might want a dance or two."

Jack waggles his eyebrows. "'Someone'?"

"Leave it." The Doctor's all but growling. Jack likes it, probably more than he should.

"Starts with an 'R'?"

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Ends with an 'e'?" Jack's always been the sort to go sticking his fingers in cages. It's a bad habit, he supposes, one of these days he'll get bit. But he hasn't so far.

The Doctor slugs his banana daiquiri and Jack winces with anticipatory empathetic brainfreeze. But maybe Time Lords aren't prone to brainfreeze--the Doctor shows no ill effect other than an increased crankiness. He stalks off and slams the glass on a nearby table. Jack follows and sets his own barely-touched drink down much more discreetly.

"C'mon, Doc. It's obvious she adores you. Why don't you just cut in?"

The Doctor rounds on Jack. His eyes are stormy, dangerous. "Drop it." But Jack doesn't back off, doesn't falter. If anything, his grin gets wider. Danger has always made him a bit horny.

"Just be a man about it. Or a Time Lord." The Doctor's scowl deepens. Jack should probably stop talking. He keeps talking. "Wait, are Time Lords even into the whole macho-manly thing? Looking at you, I'd say yes, but, who knows. With that leather jacket, maybe you're some kind of nonconformist. A real rebel."

The Doctor's entire rangy frame is tensed, practically crackling with annoyance. "I'm giving you one more chance, Jack. Back off."

"Or what?"

The Doctor looks momentarily caught off guard. "I'll--I'll strand you on Muldoon."

Jack shrugs, unthreatened. "So? I like it here."

"Then--I'll--" The Doctor sputters, then throws up his hands. "Never mind. I'll be in the Tardis. You two can join me after you've had your bit of monkey fun."

Jack knows better than to answer pettiness with pettiness, but he can't help himself. "Fine," he calls after the Doctor's retreating shape, "We'll be out here enjoying ourselves."

But the Doctor doesn't hear or doesn't care. Probably the latter. Not a little disappointed, Jack sighs. He's half-tempted to follow the Doctor, to keep him out of the Tardis and force him to have a little fun. He's just about made up his mind to when someone taps his shoulder.

He turns in time to see a very pretty mouth under a very sparkly mask say, "That's an Earth lion, no?"

Jack adjusts his golden half mask and nods. "You know your exotic fauna. I'm impressed."

"I have always liked them, very much." The pretty mouth curls. "Is the lion in need of a dance?"

Jack hesitates only a moment, and then breaks into a grin. "Why, yes. Yes I am."

Let the Doctor sulk if he wants, he decides, and allows himself to be swept away.

***

By the time the clock strikes Muldonian midnight, Jack's danced with half the people in this particular room and everyone in the adjacent one. He's currently engaged in one giddy, giggling whirl with Rose; they gallop around the floor heedless of the beat, laughing.

"You should've seen his face," Jack is saying, "Harrumphing off. 'I'll be in the Tardis! Have your monkey fun!'"

"But he's the one who likes bananas so much," Rose says, and then breaks down into another fit of giggles. "He was actually jealous?" Her eyes gleam.

"That Prince _is_ pretty handsome."

"Oh god, he is, isn't he?"

"Not as handsome as me, though."

Rose laughs. "Mmf. I don't know about that," she teases, wrinkling her nose. She glances over her shoulder. "I was kind of hoping he'd be back by now..."

"You, young lady, have hogged him all night. Let the poor man rest his feet."

"Not all night," she laughs. "It's only midnight!"

"Maybe he turned into a pumpkin."

"Or a banana daiquiri."

"Or a--"

Someone taps Jack's shoulder, interrupting him. He half-expects to see the Muldonian Prince, but it isn't; he stares into a full-face mask, gold and blue and green, a gorgeous stylized peacock. Storm-blue eyes glitter at him through the eyeholes.

"Doctor?" he says.

"May I cut in?"

Jack falls a step back, then makes a gesture of invitation towards Rose. "Be my guest."

But it's not Rose's hand the Doctor takes, it's Jack's. The Doctor's other hand gently curves against Jack's waist, and draws him into the first steps of a waltz. Jack exchanges a startled look with Rose, but her surprise quickly becomes utter delight when the Prince of Muldoon returns. Jack watches the Prince whirl her off, and then looks back at the Doctor.

"I-- You can waltz," he says when he can finally form words.

"I can polka, too, but you won't catch me doing it."

Jack laughs. He closes the distance between their bodies, follows the Doctor's lead. It's comfortable, comforting.

"Why didn't you just ask me to dance earlier, Doc?"

"Because you were being so damned annoying."

Jack grins. "Yeah? So what changed your mind?"

There's a pause, and then the Doctor confesses: "Got a bit jealous, thinking of you out here, dancing with everybody else."

Jack laughs, leans in close. "My green-eyed monster," he says. The Doctor snorts, and they spin slow, lazy circles in time to the music, dancing away the night.


End file.
